UNLV graduate flies across stage to retrieve diploma

As a photographer who covers a lot of UNLV sports, I have photographed cheerleader Emily Black in action before. Usually, about the highest she gets is standing on the shoulders of another cheerleader, holding up a letter to prompt the crowd at the Thomas & Mack in a chant of “U–N–L–V.” During commencement ceremonies last Saturday, I found that she could get quite a bit higher. In a fun bit of showmanship, university president Neal Smatresk hatched a plan to highlight the first class of students graduating with a degree in entertainment engineering and design: After all the graduating students had taken their walk across the stage, Black rose on a cable high above the floor to the cheers of students and their families and soared down to receive her diploma.